Two Years
by Morningstar1020
Summary: The times have become worse in the US and a mandatory draft is instituted. Willow and Tara meet after loosing touch with one another. Response to a challenge. One Shot.


Title – Two years

Disclaimer - I don't own anything and won't earn anything from this, plus I get 300 dollars a month from the army so you wouldn't manage to get much money out of me from court.

Summary- The times have become worse in the US and a mandatory draft is instituted. Willow and Tara meet after loosing touch with one another.

From a challenge at The Kitten Board

Rules

Setting cannot be 'contemporary'...meaning it cannot take place between 1996 and 2016. Place your story distinctly in either the past or future. How far in the past or future is completely up to you. (From "Anytime but Here")

Willow or Tara must use the title of at least one Beatles song as part of normal dialogue. (From the 10th Anniversary Kitten Fic Challenge)

A tumbleweed (I can't find where I got this; it was one with Willow wanting to wear high heels and power tools, I think? But you only need to include the tumbleweed.)

Saint Patrick's Day (Because it's March and I'm half Irish)

The Beatles song is "I forgot to remember to forget"

Things were different from the last time I had seen her. Almost two years of army life would do that to anyone I guess. I'm sure I seemed different to her too. It was odd seeing her in the green uniform, I knew she wore one and it was exactly like mine and yet, it seemed so much more amazing on her.

It wasn't our choice to join the military, well in a way. The wars had not stopped and even though we left Iraq, Afghanistan dragged on. Iran managed to become a nuclear power in 2040 when Tara and I were sophomores in high school.

With the dwindling number of volunteers for the army the draft was instituted in 2041. Regardless of race gender or sexual orientation everyone, once they turned 18, had to serve two years in the army.

Of course there were those that left the country, fled to Canada or used their foreign passports to escape abroad. So I guess Tara and I could have done that, but neither of us thought to do so. We never could leave, it was our home. So we were drafted.

Any chance I had of telling her was crushed, after all I knew what I was headed for. Two years of service living in barracks and definetly not getting to choose who I lived with. It was just easier never saying a word. Not a word that I knew I was gay, or about how much I loved her or how I was never going to fall in love with a man like she assumed. How I never wanted to be with anyone but her...

It wasn't that I didn't try before our deployment, but every time I tried it seemed like my mouth would dry up like a desert fit only for a tumbleweed blowing threw let alone the torrent of words my brain had in mind. The last time I had tried the words dwindled in my mouth until all I could choke out was "I'll miss you so much, Tara"

We promised to write and to keep in touch even though the army was sending us to what felt like opposite ends of the world. We did manage to, for a while at least.

Boot camp was tough. I wrote whenever I had time. In line to the mess hall. Between drills in the fire range, even the brief time that they gave us to shower and sleep, I wrote a bit. I can't say it was the best letter writing I had ever done and I'm sure at times I managed to babble on about nonsense but nonetheless I sent the letters to her. But eventually the strain got to the both of us and the flow of letters slowed and, well we dealt with such different things in the army, it's not like we could give each other details in letters. We both worked with classified information.

I'm sure I can come up with a whole bunch of excuses for why we stopped writing but that's all they would be, lame excuses.

The time passed, I finished boot camp and started my job within the army. Not everything in the army was horrible. I met some great people. I got used to the infuriating lack of logic. The annoying rubber bands at the bottom of our pants that cut into our skin and left a red indented line for hours once we took them off. I even got used to the commanders that seemed so inept and finally accepted the army for what it was and what the army needed me to do. I never told anyone about my prefernces and they just assumed I was very shy.

We partied when ever there was a chance and got leave fairly regularly. When we could we gladly took the four hour bus ride to the nearest city.

We tried to celebrate as many holidays as possible and were lucky enough to get leave for St Patrick's day. I never put much effort into the holiday but at least for two years in a row I can say I didn't get pinched. I was wearing all green, just like everyone else around me.

We entered our usual bar. A cute place we found the second time on leave to the city. It had a good dance floor which pleased my friends and plenty of comfy couches to lounge around in which pleased me. Our usual table in the corner was empty. I camped out with some type of green drink that my friends shoved into my hands while they hit the dance floor.

I was just about to take a sip when I noticed long blonde hair. It had grown even longer since I had last seen her. I guess I stood up and walked over because the next thing I know my hand was on her arm and she was turning around.

It had been so long since we last talked and now she was standing right in front of me looking as shocked as I felt.

Something seemed to snap us out of our staring fest because I found my self engulfed in a strong hug. I'd missed this so much. She still used the same perfume.

Finally pulling apart we made some type of excuse to our friends and I dragged her over to one of the couches. Our friends would understand, seeing someone from civilian life can remind you that the crazy time you are going threw isn't forever. So they let us go quietly and would wait till we got back to base to give us the third degree.

I was so nervous I just managed to squeak out, "Sooo... How's life?! "

Tara smiled at me and I blurted out, "God I missed your smile Tara".

Tara blushed and ducked her head as if she was trying to hide behind her hair like she used to, but army regulation requires us to have our hair up all the time. I have cursed that rule so many times but I took the time to curse it once again because it now meant I couldn't tuck her hair behind her ear and reveal her face like old times.

"I just missed you" she replied.

My heart leapt and hovered somewhere in the back of my throat, I cleared it and sat staring at her. She had not changed as much as I thought she had. A little paler but she seemed the same.

Tara interrupted my staring, "You've changed. You n-never used to be able to keep silent like that. Remember how we used to time it? How long I could keep quiet before you felt you had to break the silence?"

I chuckled, "Yes! I never managed to hold out for that long. But you know with the information I deal with... That was something I never thought would happen! Who would let me work with classified information?! I was so sure that one day I would just start babbling on and on and leak out all the secrets they taught us."

She laughed and took a sip of my drink making a face at the alcohol. "I guess you managed since your not in jail."

"Mmmhmm, so tell me, anything special?"

It was so simple after that. We fell into the type of conversation we had in the past. We spoke for an hour before our friends showed up wanting to leave. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving Tara right after I had found her again. I managed to convince her to come back with me to the hotel.

We talked into the morning, the conversation quieting down just before sunrise.

"Come on Tara, I wan't to show you something beautiful."

I dragged her up onto the roof of the hotel. It had a pretty view from it, not that we could see that in the dark. There was a small couch that we sat on while waiting for the sun to rise.

"Tara, how did we loose touch? We promised each other, and well.."

"It was too p-painful Willow." Tara stated, and off my shocked look continued, "You really have n-no idea, it doesn't matter I guess but Willow I couldn't stop thinking about you, wanting to visit you and it just was to m-much. I thought if I could j-just forget then.."

"It would be easier? Tara I tried to forget you but I forgot to remember to forget! I couldn't and can't, more importantly I won't!"

"I couldn't either."

We fell silent again and watched the first rays of sunlight creep into the sky. I turned to watch her and couldn't stop myself from blurting out the question I had been keeping in all night, "Did you, did you start seeing someone Tara? Did you get a boyfriend?"

"Willow," she said while turning to face me, "I n-never p-planned to."

Hope started to fill me, "What do you mean?" I said in a measured voice.

"I, I meant to tell you this b-before we left but I, Willow." Tara stumbled over her words and finally gave up and simply buried her head into the side of my neck. My neck started to feel wet from all her tears.

I rubbed her back and started to whisper all the words that I had never managed to say before. About how I never planned to get a boyfriend either, that I only had one crush back in high school and most importantly how one day I woke up knowing I was in love with her.

Her shaking slowed and stopped. I pushed her gently until she leaned back, "Tara, I fell in love with you, I couldn't forget you because I still am."

Something shimmered in her eyes and she gave me a look I had never seen before. I leaned closer to her. Tara waited another second before finally closing the gap between us.

It was a soft kiss and it didn't last for very long. Tara pulled back and smiled, "I've been wanting to do that forever." I answered her with another kiss.

I'm sure with time we will figure out how we both were so blind we didn't see how much we loved the other. But for now nothing could pull me away from her.


End file.
